SUKKUR, Jan 25: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that sound foreign and economic policies adopted by President Gen Pervez Musharraf have earned the country a good name and now "we have got the courage to talk to the world with our heads held high."

He said the government was pursuing the same policies. The prime minister was speaking at a big gathering at a luncheon given in his honour by the provincial minister Manzoor Ali Khan Panhwar in Jacobadbad, on Sunday.

He said after the resolution of the LFO issue with the MMA and the President's address to the joint session of parliament, democracy stood fully restored in the country.

Referring to the cancellation of a planned public meeting he was supposed to address at Hameedia High School, the prime minister said the meeting was cancelled because of the security problem.

He said he did not believe in hollow slogans and promises but in practical service to the people. He said in the past the rulers used to make promises instead of doing work and the problems of the people remained unresolved.

He said now no one would be allowed to misuse development funds as had been done in the past. He further said that funds required for the development schemes of Sindh such as water supply sewerage and education etc, would be provided.

He said the Sindh government had been allocated Rs70 million to start work on these projects. He further said that special attention was being given to education sector and a Virtual University (internet-based university) would be established in Jacobabad.

In reply to a question about barrages in Sindh, he said funds had been allocated for the purpose and they would be utilized strictly on actual works, as the barrages were the backbone of the country's agricultural sector.

About the job situation in the country, he said the government alone could not provide employment to all jobless people and the private sector would be motivated to invest further so that jobs could be provided to the youth.

Later, talking to the large number of people at a tea party hosted in his honour by Mir Mansab Ali Jakhrani, at the Circuit House, Jacobabad, the Prime Minister said that due to improved security measures at Sindh-Balochistan border, the crime rate in the area had drastically come down.